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Introduction
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01.Product Tour
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02.Colour & Noise Performance
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03.Motion & Sharpness Performance
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04.Low Light Performance
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05.Compression & Media
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06.Manual Controls
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07.Still Features
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08.Handling & Use
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09.Playback & Connectivity
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10.Audio & Other Features
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11.Panasonic HDC-HS20 Comparison
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12.Canon HF M31 Comparison
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13.JVC GZ-HD620 Comparison
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14.Conclusion
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15.Specs and Rating
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16.Comments
Panasonic HDC-HS60
This review is organized into 16 parts
Next: Part 1
Product Tour
Introduction
The HDC-HS60 is part of Panasonic’s new crop of mid-range camcorders for 2010. It boasts a 1/4.1-inch CMOS sensor, 25x optical zoom lens, and 120GB internal hard drive. The camcorder impressed us with its
strong performance, but we’ve seen a lot of good competition in the mid-range camcorder market this year.
The HDC-HS60 is available for £510 and is part of a
series from Panasonic that includes the HDC-TM60 and the HDC-SD66. More…
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Comparisons:
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| Section | The Good | The Bad |
| Product Tour | Wide angle lens; automatic lens cover | Hand strap is flimsy and doesn’t have much padding |
| Colour & Noise Performance | Good colour accuracy and low noise levels | None |
| Motion & Sharpness Performance | Video sharpness was quite good for a mid-range camcorder; motion also looked good in our testing | No 24p Digital Cinema mode |
| Low Light Performance | Overall low light performance was very good | None |
| Compression & Media | 120GB internal hard drive; SDXC memory card compatibility | No 24Mbps recording option; no standard definition record mode |
| Manual Controls |
Lots of manual controls available; Intelligent Auto controls work well; 25x optical zoom is one of the longest we’ve seen on an HD camcorder |
Controls must be set using touch-screen; auto white balance wasn’t effective under certain lighting conditions |
| Still Features | Decent set of still features | 5-megapixel still images are interpolated |
| Handling & Use | Camcorder is compact, has good button placement, and feels durable | LCD isn’t very impressive and the touch-screen system can be annoying |
| Playback & Connectivity | Playback is simple and the camcorder has all of the most important connectivity features | No accessory shoe; ports located inside the LCD cavity are unprotected |
| Audio & Other Features | Audio levels can be adjusted manually; wind noise canceller feature is an impressive addition | No external mic or headphone jack |
| Panasonic HDC-HS60 Comparisons | ||
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| Panasonic HDC-HS20 | Canon HF M31 | JVC GZ-HD620 |
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